"If the young ladies would be so kind as to come with me." The man in the dark suit had locked his hand firmly around Natty's left wrist, making it abundantly clear that this was not on an invitation but a demand. "It is just a small matter that needs to be cleared up. Surely, you are not interested in attracting attention to such a small incident."

There was nothing Natty and I could do but follow him. We had been about to leave the Music Store when the store detective had approached us. Now he ushered us into a small adjoining room.

"This will not take long. The police are on their way already."

With that, he turned around and left the room, closing the door behind himself and locking it. Locking us in.

Other than a couple of wooden crates and boxes, there were only two chairs and a small table in the room. In particular, there was no window. We sat down.

I glared at Natty. "Please, just tell me that you did not to do it."

Natty looked apologetic. "I am sorry. But at this point, it has become almost like a habit for me. A habit that is hard to break."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright. Where is it?"

To her credit, Natty did not pretend that she did not know what I was talking about.

She reached inside her bag and put it on the table in front of us: Bob Dylan's newest album, still in its original wrapping.

I sighed. "So tell me. What do we do now?"

For once, Natty looked thoroughly dejected. "Well, I suppose this is it, for me. They are going to kick me out of St. Albert's for good now. But they were going to do that anyhow, weren't they, once that bloody concerned parents' initiative thing goes through on the next meeting of the school council."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, you can't seriously believe that they will make you leave the school for the theft of one stupid record at the Music Store."

Natty sighed. "They caught me once before this. About four months ago. See, I am what they call a repeat offender now. After I got caught, Headmistress Stuart told me explicitly that I would get kicked out of school if that ever happened again."

"Damn it, Natty! You knew about that, and still you decided to steal that bloody record?"

She nodded sadly. "I am an idiot, I know."

Just then, we heard the sound of the door being unlocked. The store detective stepped inside. He was accompanied by a female police officer.

"I am Sergeant Hayes," the policewoman introduced herself to Natty and me. "Mr Balmer here claims that you stole a music album from the store."

I reached out and took the Dylan album from the table. "I am sorry, but I completely forgot to pay for this. I have got money with me, of course. I merely forgot to pay."

Sergeant Hayes looked at the store detective. "From your description, I would have thought it was the other girl who attempted to steal the album, Mr. Balmer."

For a second or two, the man was flustered. Then he pointed at me. "No, I am quite sure it was her, actually."

"You saw her take the album?" The policewoman still looked skeptical.

"Yes, it was her. I am completely sure about that," the store detective insisted.

Natty leaned over to me and whispered in my ear:"You can't do that."

"Shut up," I whispered back.

We could not continue our little exchange, as the policewoman turned towards me again.

"Of course you can pay for the album now, but I will have to write down your name and address," she told me. She looked at my school uniform. "You are a student at St. Albert's, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." I showed her my school ID.

The policewoman took notes. "We will have to inform your school about the incident, Catherine, so that they can deal with you as they see fit. Unless the Music Store wants to press charges. Mr Balmer?"

"No, that will not be necessary."

The store detective was happy to collect the money for the album from me. When that was done, Natty and I were free to leave the store.

"I can't let you do that," Natty told me, as we were walking back to the bus stop.

"You can't let me do what?" I asked, distracted.

I had been thinking about whether or not to contact Sara and Mira, and if so, what and how much I was going to tell them about what had happened.

"I can't let you take the blame for something I did," Natty elaborated.

"Why not?"

"It would be ... I don't know. Dishonorable?"

I snorted. "Would you rather get expelled from St. Albert's, then?"

"Of course not. But still ..."

"Look at it this way: if our roles were reversed, you would do the same thing for me, wouldn't you?"

"I guess so."

"Well, that settles it, then."

We had reached the bus stop where Helen Langden, Jessica Burns and Nancy were waiting.

"What kept you guys so long?" Helen asked.

"Just some small inconvenience, at the Music Store," I told her.

"An inconvenience?" Nancy raised one eyebrow. "What kind of an inconvenience was that?"

"It was nothing important, really," I assured her. "We can talk about it later, if you like."

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A / N :  Cathy is really having her hands full to keep Natty out of trouble or worse. Chances are she will have to pay dearly for her roommate's recklessness. And there are so many potentially harmful things happening at the same time, now.

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